Young Director Gets Inspiration from an Old Master

victoria-university-of-wellington

Tue Aug 28 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Young Director Gets Inspiration from an Old Master

Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 10:14 am
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington

28 August 2007

Three years of theatre study will culminate in the production of three complex, challenging, and arresting plays presented by young directors.

Collectively titled A View from Inside, these plays, performed between 5-8 September, present the perspective of those who are confined, stifled, or marginalised.

Unlike the authors of the other work in the season, Wellington theatre legend Renée is both alive and local. Director Cherie Jacobson had the chance to meet and learn from her as she prepared to stage one of her shorter plays, Tiggy Tiggy Touch Wood. Renée is one of Wellington’s most celebrated playwrights. Her politically charged, strongly feminist work is often staged in the capital, including the production in 2005 of Wednesday To Come at Downstage, which Jacobson counts as her favourite among Renée’s work. Jacobson has a huge respect for Renée, and has studied her plays and heard her speak at university. “Renée is a lovely woman and her lecture was fantastic - full of life and humour, just like her plays.”

Renée is very supportive of young directors producing her work, and has been invited to see Tiggy staged. “It's scary knowing that she intends to come to see the play performed,” says Jacobson, “but at the same time I'm really passionate about this play and the issues it involves and with my dedicated cast I think we can definitely do it justice.”

A View from Inside is a journey through theatre styles, from New Zealand realism, to 'theatre of the absurd’, to ‘theatre of cruelty’. Tiggy Tiggy Touch Wood asks, how do you cope when the one you love is no longer who they used to be? Characters Missy and Tig must live with the consequences of not fitting in.

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Samuel Beckett’s classic Footfalls is directed by Beckett enthusiast Jeremy Downing. Earlier this year Jeremy was involved in Victoria University’s Beckett-inspired “Twelfth Night” and is very excited about helming his own production. A play of rhythms and memories, executed with the precision of a metronome.

With Antonin Artaud’s mime play La Pierre Philosophale, things descend another step, into ‘theatre of cruelty’. The title may translate to “The Philosopher’s Stone”, but this is no Harry Potter tale; as director Jackson Coe says, “a play about the sadistic experiments of a maniac doctor, this play is certainly not for the faint hearted!”

This lively, varied and often unsettling theatrical journey takes place at Studio 77, 77 Fairlie Terrace, Kelburn, from Wednesday 5 September to Saturday 8 September. Performances start at 7pm, with tickets $12 waged and $8 unwaged.

For booking and further information, contact Theatre & Film Administrator on 04 463 5359 or email theatre@vuw.ac.nz.

ENDS

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